Adverse experiences in early life can have a significant impact across the lifespan, including maladaptive personality and violent behaviour. Treatment for violent behaviours is not always effective, which could be driven by mechanisms related to adverse early life experiences. This study describes adverse childhood experiences reported by men who attended treatment for violent offending in Aotearoa New Zealand (N = 422) and investigated the association with treatment progress and completion. Ninety-six percent of the men experienced at least one form of adversity, with many assessed as experiencing multiple forms. In addition, men showed less treatment progress and higher dropout rates if they experienced more diverse early life adversities, controlling for age and violence risk status. This association was not explained by borderline, antisocial, or psychopathic traits. This provides support to the growing body of literature that shows early life adversity can compromise the ability to follow and complete treatment that aims to reduce reoffending.
This study was designed to evaluate the classification accuracy of the Inventory of Problems with Memory Module (IOP-29-M) in Cuban university students using the experimental malingering (expMAL) paradigm. The IOP-29-M was administered to 76 Cuban students (43 female; M Age = 21.5; M Education = 13.9) randomly assigned to the control (n = 51; standard instructions) or the expMAL condition (n = 25; instructed to feign neuropsychological impairment). The effect of expMAL was more pronounced on the IOP-29 (d = 1.98) than commonly used symptom inventories (d: 1.28-1.36). The standard IOP-29 cutoff (>=.50) achieved .64 sensitivity at .92 specificity (82.9% overall correctly classification). Similarly, expMAL had a larger effect on the IOP-M (d = 1.38) than a verbal memory test (d: 0.63-1.01). An IOP-M <= 32 produced .56 sensitivity at .90 specificity (78.4% overall correct classification). Combining the two indicators (IOP-29-M) correctly classified 85.5-94.3% of the sample. Critical item analysis on the IOP-M produced marginal improvements in classification accuracy. Results provide proof of concept for the utility of the expMAL paradigm in Cuba. The IOP-29-M produced strong classification accuracy, demonstrating its cross-cultural validity. More research is needed using larger and demographically/geographically more diverse samples, including clinical patients.
Indirect trauma, work hours, recovery, and occupational role can affect the mental health of legal personnel, but findings are equivocal or limited, and these factors have not been examined concurrently. This study examines the mental health impact of these factors among 691 US Army legal personnel. Findings revealed that military justice (MJ) paralegals were at greater risk for depression and post-traumatic stress (PTS) while some attorneys were at lower risk for PTS. The number of child victim cases was positively associated with depression and PTS, while exposure to traumatised clients was linked to PTS. Planned vacation was negatively associated with both outcomes while actual vacation time was not associated with either. Lost vacation days were associated with PTS, and not taking vacation because of career concerns and longer work hours were positively associated with both outcomes. The implications of findings for improving the mental health of legal personnel are discussed.
Psychopathy is a construct characterised by multiple regulatory pathways, mental representations, emotional expressions, and behaviours. Although assessment tools retain significant clinical and forensic value, they focus on enduring traits and overt behaviours. These measures tend to overlook the dynamic and context-dependent processes that also influence psychopathic functioning. This article proposes that the Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS) offers a framework for integrating both the stable and dynamic elements of psychopathy. CAPS conceptualises personality as a system of cognitive-affective units that interact with situational cues to produce characteristic 'if-then' behavioural signatures. The low-arousal hypothesis, the response modulation theory, and the hot-cold framework within CAPS clarify the distinctions among psychopathic phenotypes. This enhanced meta-model also has the potential to explain dormant periods in serial offenders and sex differences in psychopathy. Rather than replacing existing measures, the CAPS meta-model improves on the interpretive value of other measures and facilitates forensic decision-making.
This study explores the lived experiences of young adults in the UK who arrived as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and were subsequently granted successive short periods (<30 months) of discretionary leave under the Ten-Year Pathway. We draw attention to the impact of temporary leave arrangements on young people's development and functioning. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), eight in-depth, semi-structured interviews with former UASC who experienced protracted immigration insecurity were analysed. Three core group experiential statements (GETs) emerged: (1) 'What I could have been' - lost educational and career and relationship opportunities due to interrupted stability; (2) 'The trauma every day you relive' - how ongoing uncertainty impedes psychological recovery from pre-migration and journey trauma; and (3) 'Why would I be lying to you' - the emotional toll of being disbelieved within the asylum process. These findings underscore the need for asylum policies that prioritise developmental continuity and emotional security for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people.
We examine how the presence of bank representatives on a firm's board of directors influences the firm's risk, debt, and ultimately, shareholder value. Our theoretical model uses a firm undertaking a debt-financed investment project, where the board determines the risk level after the debt has been arranged. The board's inability to commit to the project risk ex ante incentivises shareholder representatives to exploit financial leverage, leading to higher risk than is optimal and resulting in diminished shareholder value. By appointing bank representatives-who prefer lower risk-shareholders of firms with risky debt counteract excessive risk-taking, thereby enhancing shareholder value. Notably, reputation costs faced by shareholder representatives when associated with project failure make the shareholders worse off under a board that can commit to project risk, as these costs lead to more conservative risk choices. In contrast, a board that cannot commit but includes bank representatives allows for balanced risk management. Our findings demonstrate that shareholders benefit from this latter arrangement. Unlike previous studies, we find that balanced risk management is a potential benefit for shareholders when bank representatives are board members. Thus, our findings underscore that it is shareholders, not the lending bank, who desire bank representatives on their boards.
Prison staff face regular exposure to potentially traumatic events, yet research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among UK prison officers has remained limited. A mixed-methods design comprising an online survey (study one) and semi-structured interviews (study two) explored traumatic stress within this population. The survey measured PTSD symptomology among 447 participants, and associations with demographic factors, critical incident exposure, and individual and work environment factors. Semi-structured interviews with 19 participants supplemented survey data and provided in-depth perspectives of critical incident exposure and workplace culture. Results indicated that 51.7% of participants reported clinically significant PTSD symptoms. Increased critical incident exposure and greater workplace frustration contributed to higher symptomology. Interviews highlighted a culture of emotional suppression and a need for more accessible support. Findings highlight the need for interventions addressing individual and workplace factors to support prison officer wellbeing, and for further research into reducing the risk of PTSD in this population.
Patient recovery within forensic mental health services focuses on both mental health and offence-specific tasks and goals. Psychological treatment programmes are often provided to aid offence-specific recovery but various barriers to the effectiveness of these programmes exist. These barriers may limit patients' engagement with the programme and undermine potential benefits. Little research has explored the perspectives of programme facilitators about the barriers and enablers of offending behaviour programmes in forensic mental health services. Such research may ensure enablers are promoted and barriers are addressed to maximise treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore facilitator perspectives of the Life Minus Violence-Enhanced (LMV-E) programme in a forensic mental health hospital and elucidate factors facilitators think may impact programme delivery. Individual interviews with nine facilitators were conducted and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results highlighted several barriers to LMV-E's delivery, including staffing issues, workload, and levels of support from managers and the organisation. Findings highlight the need for programmes to be appropriately resourced, facilitator workloads to be well managed to ensure they have a focus on programme commitments, appropriate skills and training for facilitators, and sufficient support from managers and the broader organisation to enable facilitators to effectively deliver offending behaviour programmes
Refugee status adjudicators often rely on the assumption that people understand and can explain their own mental processes (Evans Cameron et al., Citation2024a). This scoping review looks at metacognition (thinking about thinking) and the extent to which cognitive processes are available to conscious awareness and/or control. PsychInfo (Ovid), Scopus, and ProQuest databases were searched for articles published since 2016: 7885 articles were identified; 62 papers were included in the final review, including 108 studies. Findings indicate that, while people are rarely completely unaware of how they make decisions and judgements, this understanding can exist outside of conscious awareness or can be inaccurate or incomplete due to their misunderstanding of memory and other cognitive processes. This review's findings add further urgency to the call to bring psychology research evidence to bear on this aspect of refugee status decision-making (Herlihy et al., Citation2024).
In the United States, female racial and ethnic minorities experience intimate partner violence at disproportionally higher rates than their White counterparts and are more likely to be involved with the criminal legal system. However, to date, most research examining intimate partner violence and juror decision-making has failed to consider the intersectionality of race and gender. The current study applied an intersectional approach in the examination of mock juror decision-making in a case of alleged intimate partner violence. Adult participants recruited online through a crowdsource platform read a vignette outlining a case of alleged intimate partner violence and responded to questions regarding their perceptions of the crime, defendant, and victim. Participants were randomised into one of four groups, between which the race of the defendant/victim dyad in the vignette were manipulated (Black Defendant/Black Victim, Black Defendant/White Victim, White Defendant/Black Victim, and White Defendant/White Victim). Statistical analyses testing a moderated moderation model indicate no impact of victim race, mock juror race, or mock juror gender on perceptions of defendant guilt or seriousness of the offence.
The Moroka Program is a dialectical behaviour therapy-informed residential treatment programme for incarcerated people residing in men's prisons who exhibit complex behaviour. The Moroka Program is three months' duration and was designed to incorporate various features of DBT. Participants included those who commenced the Moroka Program and consented to research between April 2023 and April 2024 (n = 17). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, pre-to-post treatment comparisons of psychometric measures, and incidence of behaviour. The results demonstrated no significant differences at a group level, and varied results at an individual level. The rate of self-harm and suicidal behaviour appeared to increase during the programme, though this was no longer significant after removing one outlier from the sample. A substantial portion of the sample moved from high security to medium security settings, suggesting the programme may offer a method of helping incarcerated people access more normative social environments and ongoing treatment options.
Courage is often central to rights seeking. Drawing on Aristotelian virtue ethics and socio-psychological perspectives, this qualitative study examines how Turkish lawyers interpret and manage clients' courage, from cowardice to recklessness, during litigation. Semi-structured written interviews with 46 practising lawyers were analysed thematically in MAXQDA24. Participants largely saw courage as pivotal to sustaining claims, especially when supported by education, financial resources, and robust social ties. Social pressure and reputational risks frequently dampened courage, prompting early withdrawal. Lawyers portrayed cowardly clients as anxious and hesitant, courageous clients as calibrated risk-takers, and reckless clients as bold but imprudent, and tailored their guidance, accordingly, offering reassurance, structure, or caution. Situating these dynamics within Turkiye's collectivist, high-uncertainty-avoidant context, the study advances cross-cultural legal psychology and highlights the value of emotional intelligence and mental health awareness in legal practice.
Little is known about best practices for forensic interviewing of adolescent victims of exploitation. The current study examined the types of questions asked in interviews with adolescent victims conducted by police interviewers or federal forensic interview specialists, as well as how adolescents responded. Forensic interviews were transcribed (N = 47, M-age = 15.93, SD = 3.26, range = 12-19 at time of victimisation) and coded. Interviewer prompts were coded for question type. Adolescent responses were coded for response format (open, closed, elaborated, don't know), length (word count), uncertainty, and reluctance. Results indicated that federal forensic interviewers tended to use more appropriate methods of questioning, including greater use of open-ended prompts, compared to police interviewers. Adolescents were more likely to elaborate and provide longer responses to federal forensic interviewers compared to police interviewers and were more likely to respond reluctantly to open-ended questions. Implications for forensic interviews with adolescents are discussed.
Identifying static and dynamic risk factors for child sexual offending is essential for risk assessment and the guidance of therapeutic interventions. However, individuals who commit offences involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenders, especially those that are unknown to law enforcement agencies, have been less extensively studied. This study investigated static and dynamic risk factors for undetected CSAM offending. A sample of n & frac14;102 men who are diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and had voluntarily participated in a German prevention project focusing on individuals at risk of offending were examined. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the associations between risk factors and CSAM-offending (CSAM offenders: n & frac14;72; non- CSAM offenders: n & frac14;30). Hypersexuality as measured by the subscale 'consequences' of the HBI-19 and offence-supportive cognitions significantly increased the odds of CSAM offending. The present study underscores the importance of examining the generalisability of static and dynamic risk factors for CSA to the group of CSAM offenders. A major strength of this study is that it investigates a group of offenders that is difficult to approach: men with a paedophilic and/or hebephilic sexual preference disorder who are unknown to law enforcement agencies.
It is of great importance that research investigates the impact of sexual offender treatment programmes given the damage caused by sexual offences to victims and society more broadly. However, psycho-criminological literature has focused on reporting post-treatment recidivism outcomes for people who have sexually offended homogeneously and has not investigated the unique experiences of Indigenous people. Therefore, we systematically collated and critically appraised studies reporting recidivism outcomes for Indigenous people who have received treatment for sexual offences. Fourteen studies were identified utilising a sample of 5,635 individuals (30.7% Indigenous or First Nations). Recidivism was lower for Indigenous and First Nations people who completed treatment when compared to Indigenous and First Nations people in a comparison group. However, recidivism was lowest for non-Indigenous who completed treatment. Our review identifies the current limitations preventing a more accurate picture of Indigenous treatment and calls for more detailed international data collection research to investigate treatment that is provided to Indigenous and First Nations people; a need to establish a centralised research repository for the sharing of information and insights into treatment approaches as a means of contributing to the development of best practice approaches; and a scholarly investigation into current routine practice.
